Antiskid device



Jan. 8, 1952 Filed March 2, 1950 c; B. FITTING ER 2,581 ,7 7 0 ANTISKID DEVICE 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR. CHARLES B. P/TTI/VGER Jan. 8 1952 c. B. PITTINGER ANTISKID DEVICE Filed March 2; 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 FIG. /0

IN VEN TOR. CHARL E 5 B. PITT/N651? Patented Jan. 8, 1952 UNITED STATES ANTI-SKID DEVICE- arles B rn rd i shaitimtreMd. Application March 2, 1950; SerialNo. 147,284

3 Claims, (01. 1.5.2w2l6) The present invention relates to an anti-skid.

device. and. in particular to an improved automatic or semi-automatic type.

The primary object of theinventionis-to provide animproved anti-skid device whichmay be foldedand. carried by means secured to the wheel. and the. vehicle frame when not in use andube. in. a position tobe automatically applied to the.

wheelwhenitisrequired, or desirable.

Another object of the. invention is to provide newand novelmeans for removing and applying the anti-skid elements to the vehiclewheel.

A; further object of: theinventionis toprovide.

a device with. automatic means for keeping the device. in a. retracted. position. when not in use.

A still. further object of the invention is to pro.-

videnew, and novel meansv for moving the anti- Skid'. elements about the circumference of the.

vehicle wheel.

While several objects of the invention. have beenpointed out, other objects, advantages, and: uses will beicome more. apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully described, which consists in the. novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the followingdetailed description, in which Figure 1. is a fragmentary view of a vehicle inside elevationshowing'a wheel and the antiskid device in operating position.

FigureZ: is. a view similartoFigure 1 showing the anti-skid device in. retracted position.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevational-sectional view on a small scale of. the vehicle wheel along 1ine 3.3 or Figure l.

Figure 4 is a Sectional view talgen along line 4 -'-4 of Figure 6.

Figured is a sectional view, akenalong line 5-5 of Figure 6.

Figure 6' is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure 5 showing a support and mechanism-for operating the anti-skid'supporting mem hers.

Figure 7 is a view in elevation of oneof the ringgear-plates.

Figure. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary plan; view of the..outer surface of the element operating mechanism.

Figure- 9 is a fragmentary sectionalview taken- 2 vehicle wheel is and; a h eumatietire' he rang d; upon h te t hhslrtt, 'm ch h t b yseouredtg the; u side i 3 29. 2 and an inner support 26, are a plurality of antiskid eleinent supporting arm members l8, I84 and 18;". These pp rti m m er are d pted. to ut m tically-posi i n h nt -sk d elemen s. ab uth e read 5 an ikew e e reat the: el me s to si ion h c w l enut 0i;

con a t with t e ad and-hot interf re.- ith h no mal ro ati hoi he wh lhe ant -skid ra t o elemen 0.2". ahsh 9.5 ar -err sed n ti cum rehtiailyepa e ,rel atiohsh p a out th p riphe y hf the ti e fi... These elements are normally retained QhtQi-con-M ct with h wheel-tr ad sov het hewhetl m eb t ee ywh h t e de i e s 0111 perat hs; position... The tract n el en s ar efe a y.- const htted: f. a 9 13 11,. imb dde ub er in; Order thate a tahe a U Shfil-lfid'fOli about; he tread oi the t e ahd' e l e heref m. y. the movemen o he suppo n rms '81 The. antiid lements ha e on .of heir QI 1: 9ll Q-t e o ts de ar m mbers "3. d a d;

'. t i oth r-ehdsattaehed o e emem e 22;.

n. o eo the inner: r e e ihe m mb rs 214.- hese members 24 a eof a centerles b hs -desianv an somoh ted 0. .1 e m mbe '5 ash e depend ntly nd r ly sl dablein re atio to. eaeh o her; an are mo ab e he ements .1 0.- hich are. in turn, m d by the o tsid suprport ns arms H.111 and 8-"= Th an i-sk d ele ents. 20. 2.0: and; znecarrie uponhn end of. ach of th u operat ii-s mis 83, 18; and n the er-endemthe ments. are co et ed to ne of the free. rotatin -dis s 2 mFi u l the a ti-skid e e-. ments are shown in extended, .or operating posiion. a d: in Fi ure 2 the arev wn n a, collapsed. posi i n Orin no p at n p s tion.-

The arms I8, l8" and I8 are utilized for mo v ingthe anti-skid device .into and out of operating. and non-operatin position. The means foropere. atingthe arms I8, L8 and I8" are located on. the outer-wheel hub andis rotatably supported, thereon by the bearings. 30.- The bearings-30 are supported to. the wheel. hub by the bracket 32; which is boltedto the hubby the bolts 34. Ro tatablysupportedorr the bracket 32 is an innerbearing support 35 and to this member thereisfixedly-secured a rear supporting side plate 36 On the" opposite side of the operating means is an outer side plate 31. Fixedly secured to the side plate 31 is a small motor 38;, which in turn connected by a belt or chain 43 with a worm and a gear 44 for driving the operating means. Extending perpendicularly to the face of the wheel and axially of the plates 36 and 31 is a shaft 42 fixedly secured to the inner bearing support 35 at 42'. The gear 44 is secured to an extended portion 36' of the side plate 36 and is adapted to mesh with the worm 40. Keyed to the portion 36' is a spur gear 46. This spur gear 46 is adapted to engage a spur gear 48, of which there are three, 48, 48' and 48". These gears are rotatably supported upon the plate 31 by the bearings 49, 49' and 49". These gears 48 are of such a width as to engage a driven disk or an internally toothed ring gear 50 and a plurality of smaller spur gears 52, 52 and 52". The spur gears 52, 52 and 52" in turn engage another driven disk or internal toothed ring gear 54.- Lying between the internal gear ring 50 and the rear plate 36 are five freely rotatable disk members 56. The five disks and the ring gear members make up a total of seven members corresponding to the number of links made between the arms I8 and the operating mechanism.

The driving means is preferably an electric motor which is connected with the worm gear shaft 4! by a chain or belt member 43. The motor is of the reversible type and is adapted to be controlled from the dash board by a suitable switch 60. The wiring and details of such motors are well-known in the art. For example, with the switch lever 60 in off position, the lever is moved to on position, the motor will operate to apply the anti-skid members, and when in off position, the motor is reversed and the anti-skid elements are retracted.

As previously stated, the arms [8, l8 and I8" are each attached to either the member 50, 54, or to one of the free rotating disks 56 located between the ring gear 54 and the rear plate member 36. For attaching the arms l8, l8 and I8" to the outside of the wheel, there is provided lugs 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 61 and 68. Lugs 62 to 66 are carried on the free rotation disks 56. The lug 61 is carried on the internal ring gear 50 and the lug 68 is carried on the internal ring gear 54. These ring gears are so geared that they will operate in opposite-directions. The arms l8 are pivotably attached to each adjacent arm and to a lug at a point substantially midway between its connecting pointsrwith the other adjacent arm members, one end of each arm extending slightly beyond the point of connection with one of the adjacent arms for receiving one of the anti-skid elements 20. The anti-skid elements are normally held parallel with the arms I8 when not in operating position as shown in Figure 2. This may be done by any well-known conventional coiled spring (not shown) Positioned on the outer end of the shaft 42 is a tubular member 10. This member is rotatably mounted'upon the bearings and extends either forwardly or rearwardly to the body of the vehicle and is connected therewith by a flexible portion This tubular member carried the control wires that lead fromthe dash to the motor 38. The tuber'lll has also a recess for receiving a latch 12 which is carried by the ring gear 54 for positioning the anti-skid elements whenthey are in their retarded position as shown in Figure 2. a

The last disk member 56 is connected with the ring ear 54 by a bracket as shown in Figure 8.

The latch member 12 is fixed secured to the ring gear 54 and rotates therewith, There is a loaded spring plunger 16 carried within the latch 12. This plunger is movable longitudinally of the latch and through an aperture 11 within the ring gear 54 to engage a slot 18 within the ring 56. This slot extends substantially the entire distance around the ring gear 58, as shown in Figure 7. The slot 18 does not continue entirely around the ring gear 50 as shown in Figures 7 and 9 at 19. This portion 'I9 is so loc fifld about the gear ring that it willbe opposite the; tubular member 10 when the anti-skid members are retracted in the position as shown in Figure 2. At this point the portion 19 of the ring gear 50 presses the loaded pin outwardly as shown in Figure 6, which is adapted to engage an aperture located adjacent the outer end of the tubular. positioning member H1 and retain the restricted anti-skid elements in a position where they will be out of contact with the road surface and at a convenient carrying place in relation to the vehicl. a

In Figure 11 is shown diagrammatically a mechanism for automatically cutting out the motor 38 when the device is either fully retracted or fully expanded to operating position. The construction of this cut-out is, that the worm 40 is slidably mounted upon a pair of suitable bearings BI and 8| and is held centrally by a pair of spring members 82 and 82. Extending inwardly from the bearings 8| and BI is a bracket 83 upon which is rotatably mounted the shaft 4| supporting the worm 48. The springs 82 and 82' hold the worm and bracket 83 centrally of the bearings 8i and BI. The bracket is slidably fixed to a supporting plate 39 by the screws 84 and 84'. Fixedly secured to the member 83 is a finger 85, which is in the path of two electric spring switches 86 and 86. When either one of these switches are depressed, the circuit through that electric lead will be broken. In normal operation, the spring member 82 and 82 will retain the finger 85 out of contact with the switch, as shown in Figure 11. When the arms l8 have been fully collapsed and the worm 44 is stopped by this resistance, the extra pressure will cause the worm 40 to move against one of the springs 82 or 82', which will also move the bracket and finger-85 in contact with oneof the switch members 86 or 86 and will break the circuit to a conventional relay and shut ofi the current to the motor 38. The opposite procedure will occur when extending the anti-friction element to operating position.

Operation Beginning with the anti-skid element in retracted position as shown in Figure 2, when the switch 60 on the dash-board is turned to on" position, current will flow through a relay (not shown) and wires 98 and 9| (Figure 11) to the motor 38 which willby way of the chain or belt; 43 operate the worm and worm-gear which in turn will operate the ring gears 58 and 54 in opposite directions. 7

As the ring gears 58 and 54 are rotated in-opposite directions, the plunger 16 will drop into the slot 18 and release the latch 12 from the aperture 80 within the tubular arm member 18..

This will allow the anti-skidelements to rotate with the wheel while they are being applied. When the ring gears have rotated to a point in which the lugs 6'! and 68 are in contact, the re-,

sistance on the worm-gear 44 will move the worm and bracket 83 together with the finger 85to ward the switch 86 sufficiently tobreak the circuit to the relay which will in turn break the circuit to the motor. The opposite procedure will occur when it is desired to retract the elements. When the lever 61 of the dash-board switch Ellis moved to the off position, current and 88 carried by the ring gears 58 and 54, the

arms I 8 carried on the free-floating disks 56 will be folded evenly about the wheel as the lugs 61 and 68 move to their limited closed position. In Figure 2 the lugs 61 and 68 are shown reaching their limit when the arms l8 will become fully collapsed and fully abutted together. When the worm-gears 48 and 44, together with the bracket 83 and the finger 85, are moved in the direction of the switch 86', the switch will be thrown which will deenergize the relay (not shown) and break the circuit to the motor 38. When the ring gear 58 has been rotated to a predetermined point in relationship to the ring gear 54, the loaded plunger 16 of the latch 12 will be forced outwardly by the portion 19 and will engage the aperture 88 adajcent the outer end of the tubular member 18 for retaining the anti-skid members in a position where they will not be in contact with the road surface as shown in Figure 2.

As previously stated, the free-floating rear disks 24 are moved by the action of the antiskid members which are in turn moved and regulated by the ring gears 58 and 54 and the action of the arm members l8 with the freefloating disks 56 carried on the outer end of the hub.

The device is bolted to the hub by the studs 34 and rotates freely and independently on the bearings 38 and can be easily removed when it is necessary to change tires or do other mechanical work to the wheel.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in a particular form, it is not intended to be a limitation of the invention and the scope of the invention is best defined in the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. In a traction device for a vehicle wheel, comprising a plurality of anti-skid elements arranged in spaced relationship about the tread of the wheel, a free rotating positioning means for supporting the elements along and adjacent the tread of the wheel, means for simultaneously moving the elements radially and circumferentially to a collapsible position at a predetermined fixed location adjacent the upper portion of the wheel, said element moving means comprising an operating unit having an electrically operated gear mechanism rotatably supported adjacent the outer surface of the wheel including a plurality of disks having acommon axis carried by said unit, two of the said disks being in the form of internal ring gears adapted to be rotated by the said gears in opposite directions, means for pivotably connecting two adjacent arms to each of the rotated disks and means for connecting each of the remaining arm members to a separate free-floating outer disk and to each other, means adjacent one end of the said arm members for pivotably receiving one end of the antifriction elements and means located on the inner side of the hub for supporting a plurality of freefloating disk elements and means on each of the said inner disks for pivotably attaching the opposite ends of the anti-friction elements thereto.

2. In a traction device for a vehicle wheel, comprising a plurality of anti-skid elements arranged in spaced relationship about the tread of the wheel, a free rotating positioning means for supporting the elements along and adjacent the tread of the wheel, means for simultaneously moving the elements radially and circumferentially of the wheel to a collapsible position at a predetermined fixed location adjacent the upper portion of the wheel, said element moving means comprising an operating unit having an electrically operated motor and a reduction gear rotatably supported adjacent the outer surface of the wheel, including a plurality of disks having a common axis carried by said unit, two of the said disks adapted to be rotated by the said motor in opposite directions relative to each other and connecting link arm members pivotably connected to an individual disk member and to each other, means adjacent one end of the said arm members for pivotably receiving one end of the anti-friction elements and means located on the inner side of the hub for supporting a plurality of free-floating disk elements and means on the said inner disks for pivotably attaching the opposite ends of the anti-friction elements, a positioning armQa latch carried by one of the driven disks, means associated with the positioning arm for receiving a plunger carried by the said latch for positioning the anti-friction elements in a predetermined location.

3. An anti-skid device for a vehicle wheel, comprising a plurality of anti-skid elements arranged in spaced relationship about the tread of the wheel, means for rotatably supporting the elements adjacent the tread of the wheel, means for simultaneously moving the elements radially and circumferentially of the wheel to collapsible position at a predetermined fixed location adjacent the upper portion of the wheel, said element moving means comprising an operating unit having an electric motor driven gear rotatably supported upon the hub of the wheel, a plurality of disks having a common axis carried by said unit, two of the said disks adapted to be rotated by the said motor in opposite directions relative to each other, connecting link members pivotably connected to individual disk members including the driven disks and to each other, means adjacent one end of the said arm members for pivotably receiving one end of the anti-friction elements and means located on the inner side of the hub for supporting a plurality of free-floating disk elements and means on the said inner disks for pivotably attaching the opposite ends of the anti-friction elements and means for automatically keeping the anti-friction elements in either operating or retracted position.

CHARLES BERNARD PITTINGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,846,335 Hughes Feb. 23, 1932 2,195,982 Daley Apr. 2,1940 2,195,983 Daley Apr. 2, 1940 2,427,510 Richardson Sept. 16, 1947 

